Common B2B Telemarketing Script Errors 

Big Mistake

In their desperation to get as much out of a first contact as possible, some telemarketing script writers commit the following sins:

1. Aim too high
2. Mix objectives
3. Sell the sizzle
4. Marketing Speak

AIMING TOO HIGH

Asking for a commitment in time and money (time is money, after all) from a prospect before developing a relationship and proving value is an example of aiming too high.

Unless the prospect has an urgent need, the ABC (“Always Be Closing”) approach will close more doors than it will open.

MIXING OBJECTIVES

Combining list scrubbing, surveys, and lead generation is a typical example of mixed objectives.

This camel-by-committee often comes about when several departments combine budgets for the campaign.

Besides less than satisfactory results for everyone, it can also lead to political in-fighting when one objective is favored over another.

SELL THE SIZZLE

“Sell the sizzle,” standard sales dogma teaches us. “Do this, and you can sell refrigerators to Eskimos.”

While this might work in a retail environment were your prospect is under tremendous pressure to make an immediate decision, it will fail here.

Most business executives have an analytical bent and do not respond well to pressure.

Too polite to tell you to get lost, your prospect will feign interest and accept your literature never to accept or return your calls again.

MARKETING SPEAK

Responsible for generating leads, marketing departments typically manage telemarketing campaigns.

Skilled at writing for print ads, marketing managers apply the same writing methods to telemarketing script writing.

Often, they will lift entire paragraphs from brochures and their website and place them into the telemarketing script “dialog.”

This leads to uncomfortable conversations for the annoyed prospects and embarrassed telemarketers.

CONCLUSION

Contact me for a free script review. I will give you a general opinion as to the tone of your telemarketing script as well as one or two suggestions you can put to effective use right away.

About the author: Mr. Call Center

Gene Gerwin is president of CCI Telemarketing- a B2B lead generation service specialized in the technology industry. Started in 1993, CCI is proud to have served companies such as Hughes, Oracle, Autodesk, Mentor Graphics, EMC, and many more top technology firms.